Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine 2020, Vol. 20 (3): 9-19 ORIGINAL ARTICLE AREAS OF INVESTMENT IN OMANI SPORT Ahmed Farouk 1 1Department of Physical Education and sport sciences, College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman Corresponding author: Ahmed Farouk Ragab Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT Omani sport is still searching for new methods to identify its problems and achieve a vision regarding the economic problems in sport, the short-term solutions to revitalize it, and long-term solutions to maintain its stability. It hopes to rise and find an end to its funding problems in order to take off toward international winners’ podiums, especially after the good results achieved lately in several sports. Therefore, the researcher deems it necessary to identify the areas of investment in Omani sport, as potential for investment in the presence of self-finance that covers its financial needs. The researcher used the descriptive method as it is suitable to the nature of the study, and a sample of 273 subjects representing the research population. He used a questionnaire as a data collection instrument, and rank, frequency, percentage in statistical treatment. The main finding of the research was a list of the areas of investment in Omani sport in the following order: launching sports channels, TV streaming, sports professionalism, establishing sporting camps centers, academies of different games, and investment in sporting facilities. The main recommendations were to authorize Omani sporting authorities to launch TV channels to stream their matches, be based on competition with each other, and according to the rules stipulated by the Ministry of Sports Affairs and the Public Authority for Radio and Television Keywords: Investment, Economics, funding, Sport investment, Oman INTRODUCTION marketing development, and an effective investment in the sporting institutions sector (Al- Sports seek to have financial profit as a main Shafei & Hegazy, 2009). Moreover, investment is objective for performing sporting activities in an an important way to help in solving the financial attempt to cover the rapidly increasing costs. In obstacles facing the sporting authorities as well order to reach these levels, we have to as achieving development and growth. Through accelerate toward making sports do its economic developing plans and strategies, the Ministry of roles so that it can meet its financial demands. Sports Affairs noted that it aimed at improving In order for sports to perform its roles, it needs sports as the sports industry in Oman has become funding and other mechanisms such as e- a necessity; the strategies, plans and investment, e-marketing, e-commerce, and methodologies applied by the ministry in innovative concepts for sustaining financing. cooperation with clubs, teams, and sports Some difficulties lie in the transformation of federations were capable of developing high- sports to the digital economy in some respects, ranking sporting industry in Oman. It added that first and foremost the TV streaming signal to Omani youth were able to compete in various broadcast sporting events. Organizers of major sporting competitions and events. Additionally, sporting events and championships look forward sports marketing and investment are influential to the expected revenue of streaming in order to factors in terms of attracting audience and cover the organization costs and provide a profit sponsors and propagating sports. Various means margin. We warn here that the manipulation of can be used to draw revenues, such as team’s TV streaming signal to broadcast Egyptian uniform, pitches, sporting institutions’ logo, sporting events is one of the major difficulties players, matches and championships. The facing the funding of Egyptian sporting Chairman of the marketing and investment authorities, since the revenue of TV streaming is committee in Nezwi club emphasized that the most important direct resource for increasing privatization of non-governmental sporting clubs self-financing of sporting authorities, especially is expected to have many benefits, including the Egyptian football league (Ahmed, 2017). alleviating financial and administrative burden of the government; increasing, developing, and Sports investment is one of the modern sciences, maintaining sporting facilities; competing in therefore sporting authorities should pay sports; and employment. He also pointed out attention to the various investment aspects, and that a wealth of Omani sport should be utilized try to benefit from the real practical experience and transformed into a real industry through the of big clubs in developed countries. Additionally, collaboration of different governmental, private, setting a sporting marketing and investment and civil society institutions. strategy is an important guideline to achieve (https://alroya.om). And as one of the Gulf good marketing competition, advanced experiences in sports,sports clubs in the Kingdom Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine 2020, Vol. 20 (3): 9-19 of Saudi Arabia have many potentials for in Omani sport. The research aims at identifying investment and self-financing, but they suffer the areas where investment opportunities exist from a lack of personal financial revenues, They in Omani sport. And that raises a question:What also need various sources of financing and are the areas where investment opportunities investing their components such as opening and exist in Omani sport?]] renting shops, and increasing the public presence in matches through various measures, and METHODS privatization is one of the areas The investment will eliminate the complaints of professional club The researcher set an extensive list, which players about the delay in the delivery of their included 21 areas, of the expected areas where dues, and it will also lead to an increase in the investment opportunities in Oman exist. He supervision responsibilities of the Public submitted the list to five experts to determine Authority for Youth Welfare. (Al-Malik, Saleh, their importance and order. The experts selected 2004). The search problem is illustrated in 13 areas, which were submitted by the through resercher observation of the sports researcher to the research population via an e- sector in the Sultanate of Oman, the researcher questionnaire distributed to the research noticed deficiency and variation in activating population via social media (WhatApp, Facebook, available investment opportunities in Omani and Twitter). The questionnaire included one sport, the inability of the sporting setting to theme that aimed at ordering the areas where identify the areas of investment in sport, investment opportunities exist in Omani sport. something the researcher thinks will increase received 273 responses from the population, sports financial revenues. These observations are considered an available sample. Then he inline with the findings of Eissa (2013), Ali and conducted the statistical treatments of Abbas (2013), Al-Nathir (2013), Makhlouf (2013), frequency, percentage, and order., and offers a and Zawawy (2013), who pointed out the reasoning of this order in the conclusions and importance of investment in the sporting sector, drew some recommendations. and benefiting from available opportunities in sport to increase its financial resources. So be a Population consist members of the International sport is administered in an boards of directors of clubs, sports federations, investment-oriented way. In the presence of the Omani Olympic Committee, Ministry of funding problems and lack of resources that face Sports Affairs, executive staff in clubs and sports most Omani sporting authorities, it was federations, sports media personnel, and necessary to view the sporting sector as an academics specializing in sports. And current and investment area where investors can invest their previous players, whose number is difficult to money, as well as sporting authorities invest enumerate in society. their capabilities and activities, as sport in general is based on investment underpinnings. And sample was selected from 273 subjects, Since this topic is a new one, the researcher randomly selected from the research population noticed paucity of studies about this issue. and it is an available sample that was identified Therefore, the researcher conducted the present through the response to the online survey on study to determine the areas of investment in Google Drive. The sample description is as Omani sport. The importance of research is to follows: try to identify the concepts of investment trends Table 1: Description of the research population and sample R Description Population Sample Percentage Percentage size size of sample to to sample population 1 Club members 8555 97 1.13 35.53 2 Members of Clubs boards of directors 396 16 4.04 5.86 3 Members of sports federations boards of 103 5 4.85 1.83 directors 4 Members of the Omani Olympic committee 8 2 25 0.73 board of directors 5 Executive directors of sports clubs and 56 26 46.43 9.52 federations 6 Academicians 26 19 73.08 6.96 7 Sports media personnel 42 16 38.10 5.86 8 Ministry of Sports Affairs staff (holders of a 139 32 23.02 11.73 university degree) Total 9325 213 2.28 --- 9 Current and former athletes 0 60 0 --- Total 9325 273 2.93 100 Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine 2020, Vol. 20 (3): 9-19 Figure 1: Description of the Research Sample Table 1 and figure 1 demonstrate the description presenters, adapters, directors and camera of the research sample,